Joseph Agbeko vs. Yonnhy Perez
2009-10-31 : Joseph Agbeko 118 lbs lost to Yonnhy Perez 118 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
- Location: Treasure Island Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Referee: Robert Byrd
- Judge: Barry Druxman 110-117
- Judge: Glenn Trowbridge 110-117
- Judge: Jerry Roth 111-116
Yonnhy Perez, a Columbian fighting out of Santa Fe Springs, California, won the IBF Bantamweight title with a unanimous 12 round decision over defending champion Joseph 'King Kong' Agbeko, a Ghanian now out of Bronx, New York, making his third defense. Perez, 20-0, 14 kos, was landing more jabs and appeared slightly ahead of Agbeko, now 27-2, 22 kos, going into round ten, but the Vegas fight was still close to that point. In round ten, Agbeko complained to the referee about a headbutt from Perez that appeared accidental. Perez landed a left hook on Agbeko while Agbeko was engaged with the referee. The referee admitted later that he didn't see whether Agbeko was knocked down from a punch or another headbutt, and because he didn't know which one was the case, he counted Agbeko as going down from a knockdown. The knockdown proved to be the difference in the bout, as Perez kept up his momentum and won two of the last three rounds on the scorecards, winning the bout and IBF title. After the bout, ex-champ Agbeko stated "He (Perez) headbutted me in round ten, and I didn't think it was fair."
- Data Boxing Stats: Blows- Perez 303/758 40%, Agbeko 265/659 40%; Controls-Perez 55, Agbeko 60, both being busy and aggressive.
